Selected Transcript
CHARLES SALISBURY
Thank you Mark, Catherine and Professor Harris. I am grateful for your kind remarks. I am especially grateful to Mark for his support in the rebirth of Trinity Hall and most especially for his leadership of these Colleges.
Thanks also go to: Paul Bringewatt, Vice President for Administrative Services, Chris Button, Project Manager; Hueber Breuer Construction Company: Nate Podkaminer, Executive Vice President and Aaron Walter, Site Superintendent; Macon, Chaintreuil, Jensen & Stark: Ann Chaintreuil, Lead Architect, Craig Jensen, Lead Architect, Dirk Schneider, Project Architect.
Before I go any further, I want to thank my wife, Bunny, and my daughter, Kate, William Smith Class of 1994, as well as my daughter, Anne, who could not be here today. No one could ask for more support through life nor with regard to my commitment to HWS then I have received from the three women in my life. They have been 100% behind me in my support of this building project and to my other commitments to Hobart and William Smith. When I think about how fortunate I have been, my thoughts always start with my family.
That sense of being blessed continues to my having Hobart and William Smith as an important part of my life. I owe a great deal to the education and experience I received while a student here. That joy has been revisited as a result of my service as a Trustee.
Having had the great pleasure of serving as a Trustee during the last 13 years has been one of the highlights of my life. Serving with this group of dedicated, thoughtful, and committed individuals is a truly fulfilling and enriching experience. I salute them and those who preceded them. These Colleges are indeed fortunate to have continued to attract such dedicated individuals who devote so much of their time, talent and treasure to Hobart and William Smith. Thank you to each of you for enriching my life with your individual, but shared sense of commitment to an institution about which I care so much as so do each of you.
Finally, about Trinity Hall. My belief as an investor is that institutions and products share a common need. They must stand out from the crowd in order to be considered for selection. Some here will blanch, but the success of this or any other institution depends on meeting the needs of students and potential students. It is not preordained that any college must survive or thrive and indeed some have not survived. In order to be successful Hobart and William Smith must continually differentiate itself against a competitive landscape of many other well-regarded Liberal Arts Colleges. It is my hope that Trinity Hall and that which it offers to our students and potential students will help differentiate Hobart and William Smith in that crowded landscape and make it easier for prospective students to realize that HWS is the right college for them, as well as making their time here richer for our students.
Trinity, as it now stands, says that Hobart and William Smith are concerned about life and learning beyond the campus and offers to help students in planning for their lives after graduation from here.
The goals of this building and three relatively small staffs are ambitious. However, the history of Hobart and William Smith, especially the recent history of these Colleges is one of looking opportunity and challenge in the eye and then making others sit back and take notice of this small institution with a rich history and big ambitions for the future.
I am very pleased to have had the opportunity to, in part, make this building a reality as another indication of my support for the continuing aspirations and momentum of these Colleges.
I thank you all for being here today and again to my family thank you for your love and support. I am a lucky guy.
INFORMATION
Charles H. Salisbury Jr. '63
April 24, 2004